Kings Stun Flyers in Final Second, 4-3

The boss was in town Thursday to check on his investments, and not just the $350-million hole in the downtown ground that is going to be the Staples Center.

Philip Anschutz, the Denver billionaire, will lose more than $10 million on the Kings this season--some estimates have put the figure closer to $15 million--and the word from all hands was the same.

“He has a fair amount of frustration,” King President Tim Leiweke said.

“I’m frustrated,” Leiweke added.

“I’m frustrated,” Dave Taylor, the team’s vice president and general manager, echoed.

Hope Anschutz didn’t leave early.

The Kings got a goal from Jozef Stumpel from the blue line that went through the legs of Philadelphia goalie Ron Hextall with less than a second to play to earn a 4-3 win over the Flyers and complete a rally from a two-goal deficit in the final four minutes at the Great Western Forum.

Goals by Sandy Moger and Donald Audette in an 80-second span had earned a tie with a Flyer team that was coasting and ran into some desperation hockey.

Some seriously desperation hockey.

The Kings had been outshot, 30-15, before the flurry, then outshot Philadelphia, 10-1, in the final five minutes.

The Kings were down, 3-1, after Flyer goals by Chris Therien, Keith Jones and Eric Lindros, and it appeared another two points would disappear in the playoff race.

None of that did anything to lessen the frustration.

Nor have recent newspaper clippings going back to the office in Denver that say some of the Kings are not playing at peak efficiency. That a team Anschutz is paying about $33 million--$10 million more than last season--has 15 fewer points through 53 games.

“He’s frustrated with the team and the league,” Leiweke said, indicating spiraling salaries are becoming a concern. “We’ve put a large amount of money in this. We’ve stepped up, but we can’t keep this up.”

The Kings appeared ready to keep up their losing ways against Philadelphia, falling behind on Therien’s goal in the first period that goalie Stephane Fiset hampered but did not halt. It became 2-0 when Jones hammered a shot from 35 feet.

That was cut in half when the Kings broke a 145-minute, 22-second scoring drought in the second period--about five seconds after they thought they had.

When Ray Ferraro deflected Doug Bodger’s shot from the right wing past Hextall, the puck hit the post and bounced first along the goal line--setting off a fog horn and the red goal light--and then out to Pavel Rosa, who jammed it past Hextall to trim the Flyer lead to 2-1.

Lindros simply overpowered Sean O’Donnell and Fiset in the crease for the Flyers’ final goal.

The boss got an eyeful of what many of the 13,878 on hand had seen all season.

Then they got an eyeful of something new.

The Kings were 0-16 when behind after two periods.

Make that 1-16.

Moger began the attack by going to the net to send a rebound of Luc Robitaille’s shot past Hextall at 16:52. Rob Blake was also in the vicinity, muscling Therien out of it to clear the way for the goal.

Flush with adrenalin, the Kings stayed on the attack, with Stumpel going behind Hextall and the Flyer goal to pull out a puck and send it to Audette, who was sailing in from the left-wing side to make it 3-3.

That left things to Stumpel, whose shot was the kind of thing you see just as the clock strikes 0:00. Pure desperation, but this time it deflected off Hextall’s skate and into the net.